Sara Stadem | Editor
Feeling like you are on too many prescriptions? Are you maybe feeling like you want to reduce your stress and improve your health but don’t know where to start? Judy Waldman, owner of RX Shepherd, looks to assist in those areas and more.
Waldman, originally from Ipswich, went to college at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., to become a pharmacist, following in the footsteps of her dad and grandpa.
After college, Waldman returned to Ipswich, owning Crissman Drug with her dad and grandpa, eventually merging with another pharmacy which allowed her to add telepharmacy to her services.
Waldman and her husband, Jack, have two children; a son and a daughter. They decided to make the move to Hartford to be close to their children and grandchildren, Waldman explained.
With a move change came a career change for Waldman who started RX Shepherd in December 2019.
Waldman explained for her it was a struggle as a pharmacist to see how many prescriptions someone would be on only to have another one added to help with the side effects of the first one and so on and so forth. Waldman decided she wanted to take a different path and help educate those on how to improve their life in hopes to reduce some of those prescriptions.
“Anyone can be labeled a health and wellness coach like Weight Watchers, etc.,” Waldman explained. She continued, “I did a certificate program through Creighton University for lifestyle medicine. It’s a nationally certified health and wellness coach and it’s a board-certified process. We go through a similar process to what doctors go through to get their credentials.”
What can someone expect from RX Shepherd? Waldman explained, “My goal is to help people become healthier, maybe less prescriptions and to utilize the knowledge I have about health and medication to reduce stress and improve sleep.” She continued, “We need to take care of our body. Our jobs now days include so much sitting and sedentary. So, making small significant changes to improve someone’s overall health is my goal.”
Waldman said her long-term goal with a client is to improve their health so they don’t have to spend so much money on medications and health care, not only for themselves but for our futures.
“I want to help improve someone’s quality without medication, more of a holistic approach so someone doesn’t feel they have to take medication right away. It’s a lifestyle medication,” Waldman said. She continued, “It’s truly proven that you can improve things in your life by your lifestyle changes.”
Waldman shared she had her own experience with needing to learn for her health. “When I was told I had high cholesterol, I was told I had to lower it. I went home wondering how to go about doing it as they didn’t tell me that. So, even learning how to take care of myself better has helped me.”
The struggle for Waldman has been getting this started in the Midwest, she explained. “This is not currently a medication that is being utilized here. The National Board has been working really hard to get this type of practice paid for by insurance companies but it’s still pretty young in the medical field,” Waldman said. She continued, “It’s currently in the process, getting health coaches paid for by health insurance. So, in the meantime, I decided to write this program to help educate people on what their body is looking for and what it needs.”
Waldman educates in areas such as nutrition and sleep, the six pillars of health and wellness, relationships and substance abuse and more. She has spoken in churches and different groups via Zoom and also meet individually.
“I feel I could help in any aspect of life whether it’s an athlete or a parent group, teacher’s organization or a church organization, it’s applicable to any group, any age, maybe a group of teenagers,” Waldman said. She continued, “Lifestyle medication isn’t a weight loss program but that is also a benefit with this. Teenagers that want to move into their high school years or college years that want to move into their next phase of life that want to learn how to take care of their health at the optimal health, this benefits them so much.”
Waldman explained it’s not about making huge changes in someone’s life, but it’s important to feed your body correctly and to take care of ourselves mentally and emotionally.
The initial set-up with RX Shepherd is over the phone to see if it’s a good fit to work together, Waldman explained. From there, Waldman does weekly check-ins which are based on the individual’s wants whether that is via email, zoom, call, etc.
“It’s a lifestyle change. People decide what they want to change, they start to see improvements and they decide they want to make a few more changes. Suddenly they see so many improvements,” Waldman said. She continued, “It’s important to take care of themselves. We are very giving people in America and we don’t recognize that we have to be giving to ourselves and taking care of ourselves as well.”
According to Waldman, “Chronic diseases are reversable if lifestyle changes are made and most doctors won’t tell you that and some doctors don’t even know that so they can’t educate you on that. I want to help.”
Waldman concluded, “I chose the name Shepherd because it’s a person of guidance, a person who will walk along side of them to help guide them, help hold them accountable to what they want to do to make themselves healthier.”
For more information, visit https://rxshepherd.com